7 Types of Kitchen Cabinet Materials: A Full Guide

The material you choose for your cabinet doors will affect their appearance and how well they stand up to daily use. For the most functional cabinet doors, you want a balance between support and style. By exploring different types of kitchen cabinet materials, you can find one that not only provides the durability and strength you need but also fits the design style and overall appearance of your kitchen.

The Best Kitchen Cabinet Materials

When you browse potential materials for new cabinets, you have no shortage of options. The following are some of the best cabinet materials you can use in your kitchen to provide you with practicality and style.

1. Oak

Oak is going to be inexpensive, strong and durable. It comes in many styles and looks great when finished with medium and dark-tone stains, especially since it has grain patterns that are pronounced. It is often used for more traditional-styled cabinets. This wood is one of the best materials for kitchen cabinets of all types. You can choose from either knotty or regular oak, depending on the design style you are aiming for and how much you want to embrace the natural look.

2. Cherry

Cherry is pretty sturdy and can deal with marring and knocks. It is formal and elegant whenever used in a traditional style, and it has design versatility which can give your kitchen a more contemporary feel. It has a fine, smooth grain and will have reddish brown to red wood that will darken with age. Cherry can be stained to be a uniform color.

3. Hickory

Hickory will be much heavier than oak while also demonstrating strength and a beautiful grain pattern. In the natural grain alone, hickory features a wide range of colors, and the colors can be wild, with lots of mineral streaks, especially thanks to the pronounced grain. Just like maple, the blonde tones of hickory will be complimented using a natural or clear finish. It is great for a rustic style, but it is a rare choice for semi-custom or custom cabinets. Hickory can be smooth-grained or knotty, depending on your style preference.

4. Maple

Hard Maple is a lightly colored and fine-grained wood that is a bit more expensive but less dense than oak. Maple is a great choice for custom and semi-custom cabinets because it can be stained to blend well with lighter colors. It will often be finished using a natural or clear finish to give it a light contemporary look.

5. Alder

Alder is a soft wood with a slightly swirled but mostly straight and narrow grain. The grain is smooth and detailed but also more subtle than in other woods. This semi-hardwood is naturally similar in color to cherry and oak but features slightly red tones. Alder is one of the most durable woods and is perfect for kitchen cabinets. However, since it is softer than other woods, it is more vulnerable to scratches and impressions.

At a price point in between the cheapest and most expensive woods, alder is a great choice for getting the most value out of your purchase.

6. Particleboard

Particleboard is a dense material made from compressed wood chips and resin. These wood chips are tightly compacted to create a firm plank used for solid cabinet doors. Particleboard is a popular choice for thermally fused laminate (TFL) cabinet doors, as the laminate veneers can easily adhere to the material. As a result, this material provides many opportunities for unique or custom designs and finishes. Unfortunately, particleboard is not as strong as solid wood and should be handled with care due to its lower resistance to damage and humidity.

7. Medium-Density Fiberboard

Medium-density fiberboard (MDF) has a similar manufacturing process to particleboard. Despite its similar construction, MDF is much stronger than particleboard thanks to its higher density. Because of its density, MDF is more resistant to warping from moisture, even compared to solid wood.

MDF is an excellent choice for many modern homes because it can take on any design style with the right coat of paint or laminate. It is commonly used in paint-grade cabinet doors. The downside of both particleboard and MDF is that neither has a natural grain.

How To Choose the Right Kitchen Cabinet Material 

The best part of wood is that nature does most of the decision-making for you. Each type of wood has its own predetermined features, from its natural pattern to its natural color, which may or may not work in your kitchen. As you weigh your options for the best cabinet material, there are three main factors to consider.

Grain

The natural grain of the wood is the first thing that stands out when choosing a material. Some grains are more robust than others, like knotty woods, where the grain is really dark and prominent. Other woods have a lighter, more subtle grain with thin lines that are not much darker than the base wood.

However, if you do not like how the natural grain of a wood looks, you can always have the door painted or covered with a veneer face. Veneered or painted cabinets will give you a better grain match than a solid wood cabinet, as you have more control over picking the design.

Color

Each type of wood material has its own natural color, from bright shades of wood to darker, warmer colors. Consider which shades will fit your kitchen design style before committing to a type of wood.

You will not always like the natural color of a wood. Fortunately, you can always stain or paint the wood to make it better fit your needs. Keep in mind though, that staining wood can change the color enough to change the natural shade completely.

For example, staining can make birch wood appear the color of maple. Overall, judge kitchen cabinet materials by their final form rather than their natural state.

Cost

Each type of wood has its own level of rarity and difficulty to produce. Certain types of wood are also more durable than others. As a result, you can expect the costs of different wood materials to vary quite a bit.

Most cabinet companies and manufacturers set their prices based on square footage for each cabinet material type and door style, which means you can set the measurements of the doors you need to get a more accurate estimate of the cost for each material. Be sure to shop around and compare the square foot cost for the designs and wood type you want.

Shop Different Types of Kitchen Cabinet Doors

New cabinetry can be quite an investment, and not everyone has the time or money to take on such a large renovation project. Replacing cabinet doors is much more affordable, and depending on your DIY skills, it’s also much quicker and easier.

CabinetDoors.com can help you with all your replacement cabinet door needs. We manufacture custom cabinet doors for residential consumers, cabinetry companies, contractors, and more. Since you are buying directly from the factory, you’ll enjoy the highest quality doors made from the best kitchen cabinet materials at wholesale prices.

Get the top value and make your remodeling budget go further by purchasing your replacement cabinet doors from CabinetDoors.com. Explore our complete inventory for yourself so you can see all of your potential options for styles and materials.